The present invention relates to a means for linearly connecting two non-circular pipes together, so that the two connected pipes are vertically aligned with each other.
A sectional rack that can be assembled and erected without the need of any tool is most welcomed by consumers. Such sectional rack usually includes many tubular members as its posts, and these tubular members are provided with a plurality of spaced annular grooves, making the posts looked like bamboo poles. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,676,263; 5,303,645; 5,174,676; 4,991,725; 4,799,818; 4,595,107; 5,546,887; and 4,763,799 all disclose sectional racks using such bamboo pole-like tubular members as the posts of the rack.
To facilitate convenient packaging of components of such sectional rack, each of the posts is usually designed to include two or more short sections that could be linearly connected to provide a long post, giving the sectional rack an increased height, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,263. Among the currently commercially available sectional racks, the posts all are made of round tubular members. A connecting member disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,263 is suitable for connecting such round posts but not non-circular posts. When the connecting member of U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,263 is used to connect two non-circular posts for a sectional rack, upper and lower posts are not necessarily aligned with each other.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a means for linearly connecting two non-circular pipes, such as non-circular posts for the sectional racks, so that two non-circular pipes could be connected to vertically align with each other, giving the sectional rack even, straight and beautiful posts.
To achieve the above and other objects, the connecting means of the present invention mainly includes a bar, upper and lower pads put around the bar, and a collar. The bar has two externally threaded ends adapted to screw into internally threaded holes preformed in the non-circular pipes. The upper and lower pads respectively have a cross section the same as that of a bore of the non-circular pipes, such that they can be inserted into the pipes to synchronously rotate along with the pipes. The collar has cross section and outer diameter the same as that of the pipes and is initially put around an inner end portion of the upper pad, so that the collar can be downward moved to enclose inner end portions of the upper and the lower pads at the same time to confine them accordingly the pipes to a vertically aligned position.
In the means of the present invention for linearly connecting two non-circular pipes, the upper and the lower pads are respectively divided into an inner section and an outer section by a flange. An outer diameter of the pads at the flange is the same as that of the pipes.
To enable the means of the present invention to linearly connect two non-circular pipes together, the pipes are separately provided in their each end with an insertion member on which an internally threaded holes is formed for the externally threaded ends of the bar to screw thereinto.